


Dearest Taranza

by Q_the_Cyndaquil1



Category: Kirby (Video Games)
Genre: Angst and Romance, Eventual Romance, F/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2020-08-20 07:50:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20224378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Q_the_Cyndaquil1/pseuds/Q_the_Cyndaquil1
Summary: Taking place before the events of Triple Deluxe and before she was introduced to the Mirror, we look at Sectonia's harsh life as an imperfect spider. The story may have OCs but most of which won't be deemed as important.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Story was entirely based on interpretation on the song Moonstruck Blossom or Fatal Blooms under Moonlight as well as rearranged or remixed versions of the song.

Of all of the flowers up here in Floralia, the land above the world of Dream Land, her favorite flower was the blossom. Blossoms don't last as long as many other flowers, but during their lifespan, they bloom with beauty. It reminded her of her parents and their parents before her. She lived with her father, where she took the title as Princess of Floralia. Despite her given title, she's been teased by people around her. Whether it was students around her in school or even her father, where she was beaten and abused. What was it that made people hate her? Perhaps it was her looks. Her right eye was smaller than the other, her left tooth was chipped, and lastly a mole on her right cheek. Her horns were larger than what the female should typically have, but about the size of a male's. The eyes that fuerowed in her hair varied in colors. Only one pair was purple. She was absolutely imperfect, and no one loved her. Well, except for two.

Before her mother passed, she was a caring bee who cared for her newborn arachnid, no matter how imperfect she was. She was the one who played with her, even if others would look away from such monstrosity. And every time she cried, her mother was there for her back then. That was until she passed, and during those times, her mind had flooded with suicidal thoughts. It wasn't like anyone loved her anyway. That was until a particular spider came about.

This spider's name was Taranza. It was after many many years after her mother's death, that he had to appear. She was in her second year in mage school where she had met the quirky spider. It was only for a quick assignment on puppetry, and after that, their bond had bloomed.

Taranza was new to Royal Road for he came from Wild World. He lived in a lonesome mansion there, where he had peaked his academics with the spirits that shared his home. And indeed did he peak in academics. He was valedictorian of their school and many hated him for it. Many aftempted to attack him but because he exceeded in magic, he used it for defense. He had used magic for defense upon meeting her many times. He was also there for her too. He was her therapist. She would be there to vent out and talk about all of her problems, and he wouldn't judge. She liked Taranza for her character too. Taranza was introverted, and he didnt have lots of friends, but when he's around her, he has this cute humor. She loved school only because of him, but returning to home would always be a nightmare.

It was something she didn't want to think about. Either way, life was doing well for her. Life was bittersweet and she somewhat loved it, but like a blossom, it would quickly come to an end.


	2. Chapter 2

“Sectonia?!”

The spider’s head cocked up searching around the capital’s market. The spider wore a red scarf, a maroon button-down with black buttons, and a cape with a webbed design. The webbed design was yellow which complimented the maroon background, blending in with button-down she wore. It was her favorite set of clothes despite being the uniform the female students of her school wore. The spider was mostly blinded as her hair covered her small, right eye. Her right eye seemed like it was swollen, but no, this was how she was born. Her right eye was shorter than her left; the rest of her eyes furrowed in her hair. She had outgrown her hair to hide all of those, and because of it, it made her almost blind. She chose to only use her left eye to prevent anything from hurting her.

She stood in between the busy market as Sectras were checking out the shops. The sun was above her head. The market was rather close to the Magician’s Academy, a private school for those who are dedicated to become sorcerers. The market was also one of the few places to find food for low prices, as well as other accessories such as paintings or books. As great as this is for the Sectras, this market only opens twice every three months. She wasn’t here for anything, for her partner instructed her to meet her there.

“Sectonia!” said the voice again.

She checked her surroundings while standing in her one spot. The market starts to get clumped together as Sectras push each other to find some walking space. Unbeknownst to her, someone was steadily, yet quickly, approaching the girl. As it reaches to, the market becomes louder and louder, as Sectonia peers left, right, and all around to find the one who’s calling her name. It becomes apparent to Sectonia that someone was approaching. She turns to her right, and to her surprise, a Sectra youth pounced atop Sectonia. Upon impact, her bangs revealed her right eye. It was then a Sectra exclaimed the princess’s whereabouts in the market. Everyone around her saw her. And once they came to realization, they hadn’t dared to set foot near her. When the youth stared at her, he was mortified. He shivered with terror, and cowered away from Sectonia. Slowly and slowly, he tried to find his mother within the group surrounding the he and the freak standing in front of her. Sectonia, on the other hand, quickly fixed her hair so that her left eye was hidden, either way, it was too late. She froze in the midst of the empty circle, as she looked at the kid. She was scared.

“Sectonia?!” said that voice again.

The crowd started to inch a little towards the unnerved Sectonia and the frightened child. It was this moment she realized that she was going to be judged by her actions. She’ll be judged by the kid, the audience, the Gods. Her brain was fogged up, eyes close to being in tears, and the molecules in her body just continued to shake. She was absolutely paralyzed. The kid on the other hand was calling for her mother. The monophobic child started to cry in a defeated position as he laid on the floor. Sectonia empathized the child. She was going to crawl closer and closer to the youth, until another person jumped at her.

“Stay away from my boy!” Says an older female Sectra. She slapped Sectonia and ran off with her boy. The group allowed the mother and child to flee, leaving out an empty column for the two to run through. Once they left, they closed back in, waiting for Sectonia’s next move. She shivered in fear, and the crowd inched towards her.

“Sectonia?” said the voice one last time, which seemed to be hiding within the crowd.

While this person came close, she tried her best to scream out loud. She just couldn’t though. She was paralyzed, and the pressure was really on her. She just couldn’t budge to do anything, like a caged newborn lion, as it’s watched by a bloodthirsty audience. She whimpered as eyes stared at her like spotlights. But soon enough, the audience got bored when she did nothing. The crowd dramatically died, and just as this situation could get any worse, a booming cloud above her released drops of water. That’s when another Sectra saw her. Standing in the rain.

“Sectonia! Where’ve you been?” asks the curious Sectra, Taranza. “I’ve been calling your name everywhere around the market.” Taranza wore clothing similar to Sectonia’s. The spider wore a red scarf (a lighter and livelier red than Sectonia’s), a pine dark green button-down accompanied with light gray buttons, and a cape with a webbed design. The webbed design was yellow which complimented the dark green background. Sectonia didn’t answer her question, which left the two Sectras in the storm. “Hey. Uh. Howabout we find some shelter? Let’s go to my place!” He quickly enveloped his hand around Sectonia’s and dashed to the edge of Royal Road.

Under Royal Road was Endless Explosions. A difficult landform filled with lava and volcanoes, you could easily faint from heatstroke (that is if you don’t have any sorcery to block the heat, or some high metabolism). But to keep things short, they went off on another ledge and traveled down under. Under Endless Explosions was a jungle cloud called Wild World. The land had tall grass and trees that appeared to reach to the landform above. But with this nature in the away, alongside the rain, which grew worse in seconds, made it difficult for them to see whatsoever. Still, they would find what happens to be Taranza’s mansion. The mansion was large to say the least. The architecture of it seemed grim and cursed. The one thing that stuck to this mansion was the face plastered above the entrance. A stained glass eye and a bricked, toothy grin. It really shines ‘DO NOT ENTER’ all over, especially with the rainy condition at this time. The door creaked open and it revealed a void. The only visibly thing you could see were two rows of checkered flooring.

“Let’s go!”

“Wait!” Sectonia yanked back Taranza’s grip before they entered the entrance. “This is where you live?!”

“Why yeah. What’s so bad about this place?”

“Haven’t you heard about the rumors of this place?”

“No…?” They both entered the house with no hesitation. This house looked simple from the inside. At the moment, they were walking on a ceaseless hallway. The flooring was a black and white checkerboard, there were mirrors for walls, a rug that seemed to never end, and the infinite darkness. “What are these rumors you’ve heard of?” Taranza asks Sectonia out of the blue.

She sighs. “Many around Royal Road had spread scary rumors in this mansion. One story included a famous explorer and his comrades who were cursed to stay in this mansion.” Her voice quivered.

“Did they ever say how they were cursed?”

She hesitated, “Well, I’ve only overheard this conversation, so how would I know? People have been saying that when you enter the mansion, you hear haunting music, spirits would stalk behind you.”

The jolly Sectra looked back at Sectonia. “Do you really believe in ghosts?” Taranza asked with curiosity.  
“Well… yeah.” She answered shyly.

“Well don’t worry!” Taranza’s voice echoed through the hallway. “If you’re scared, you got me by your si-” Before Taranza could even continue, floor below them suddenly disappeared.

While they’re bodies may float in mid-air, only adults are able to really “fly”, while the children and young adults (to clarify, young adult is from ages 13-21, from the perspective of a Sectra) are grounded to the floor due to gravity. Even when you’re older than 21, you don’t necessarily float immediately, for it takes time, sometimes taking another couple of years.

Taranza was still at the height he was earlier, while his female companion was still gripping onto his hand. Sectonia yelped for assist, and Taranza still kept holding on. Soon enough, Taranza nor Sectonia could keep this up, and they both fell in the pit.

…

Sectonia slowly opened her eyes, and alas, she was awoken by her own reflection. She looks around her surroundings and it seems like she stuck in a box-like room. Just like the hallway, the walls were reflective mirrors, a dim light somewhat luminated the room, the floor was carpet. What struck her was that she didn’t seem to see any reflection from any of these mirrors. All but one. The one right in front of her. She walked towards it. Her reflection was… beautiful. Her bangs were fixed, her horns weren’t as large, her eyes were identical from each other, which wasn’t too big, nor too small. She turned around, her hair was straight as ever and her eyes were all a magenta purple. She cried. It was like looking into a dream. It took her aback however when the reflection reached out, out of the mirror, grabbing onto her uniform. She was dragged all across the walls: up, down, and at all sides. Then she pushed herself away from her mirrored self, by pushing against the wall. She searched around for her reflection. She stood strong, checking each wall in front, behind, and from both sides. She felt a beam of determination glowing within her body. That was until her perfect reflection appeared once again, this time on all sides. They were… laughing. They giggled once they appeared, but as they approached, their giggling got louder, to maniacal laughing. Then all six of their hands grabbed onto a portion of Sectonia, as if they wanted to claim each part of the body. This was absolute hell for Sectonia. She was pulled to one side, then to another side, then another, and so on and so forth. What was even worse was that they tightly gripped onto her, so it wasn’t like she could shrug it off easily. The reflection from behind had the stronger grip and was able to drag the spider to her side of the mirror. She was flinged off from the ground, breaking the mirror as she fell in the endless abyss, shrieking in the process. As she was descending, she could hear the other three reflections simply laughing, like it was all a big joke. A prank. Soon enough, her vocal chords started to die out, and this void was neverending. She closed her eyes as she waited for her bones to break upon impact from the ground. Then, she fell asleep.

“...............ia”

“.........Sec…………..wak………..”

“Wake up……”

Her eyes slowly opened as she felt a tug and two warm hands. To her left, she saw Taranza, who was ever so worried. It felt weird, feeling some other person’s hands that wasn’t her family, or some bullies. To her right, she saw a luminescent, large, blue ghost. Her surroundings grew blurry as her eyelids grew heavy, only hearing the conversation from the two.

“This is all your fault!” Taranza stammered.

“My fault?!”

“Yes, your fault! Your friends toyed around with Sectonia!” Taranza unhanded Sectonia, probably getting closer to the bright blue ghost.

“Pshh. How so?”

“How so? HOW SO? Hm… let’s see… The hallway was stretched out, the floor disappeared below us, then Sectonia fell somewhere! So clearly you guys were fishing something out!”

“How many times do I have to say to call them my men or subordinates instead of friiiiiiiiiiiiieeends!” The ghost slurred out his sentence. More specifically when he said friends.

“Friends, workers, I don’t care! You still hurt my guest, and going-to-be study partner this year!”

“So, you’re saying that that this girl will be visiting our quarters for an entire year?!”

“Yeah, until the year is over.” The spider bluntly stated.

The ghost sighed, and she felt those two warm hands again on her middle palms (the palms in the mid section). Those hands squeezed hers. “C’mon Sectonia, wake up!”

“Mm. I’m awake.” Sectonia struggled to say. She managed to move a bit as she slowly opens her eyelids. Or rather, her right eyelid, for her left eye was still covered by her overgrown hair. “What happened?” She says as she ignores the conversation.

“Thank goodness you’re okay. What happened to you?”

“I fell, then I found myself in a boxed up room. Mirror for walls, the reflections laughing, it was like a nightmare come true…” As she struggled to get up, she noticed that dried up tears ran from her eyes. 

Taranza didn’t really know how to respond with this. It was all so… weird. Or at least, it just sounded indescribable. It wasn’t hard to picture, since it wasn’t the first time these ghosts had scared off a guest. Maybe this was a norm that just happens when an acclaimed intruder comes into the home. 

“See! Your friend is safe now Taranza. Now could you guys go and finish whatever you’ll be working on?” The blue reminiscent ghost boasted

The two were upset at the ghost’s attitude, especially Taranza. “I’m not liking your attitude Ace!”

The ghost, presumably named Ace, scoffed at the two Sectras. “Well, I’m only suggesting that you hurry it up. It’s already awfully late, and I don’t think your lady friend wants to stay for a cup of tea.” The duo was confused at the remark, so Ace groaned. “I’ll be on my way then. Enjoy your stay.” The ghost wavers his hat to Sectonia as he waltzes through the walls. After that, it left Sectonia with Taranza.

“I’m so sorry about this Sectonia.” Taranza apologizes. “He isn’t typically this snarky to me.” 

“Who was that exactly?”

“His name is King Ace Fuwa Power. Though, Ace is what he goes by. But really, I truly am sorry about that!”

“It’s no worries! I’ve faced worse anyways.” Sectonia happily said with a grin on her face, while Taranza stood silent. The room was silent after that. “So-oh, should we finish our homework?”

“Yeah I think we should.” With a quick teleportation spell, they both spawned in a silked up cocoon. Inside this cocoon were books. They both took out the dark green book, and flipped to a page near the beginning. For a few hours, they worked on their homework, which wasn’t so bad since it had only asked about magicians’ etiquette.

After that, they wrapped their stuff back into a cocoon and left the mansion. Once they left, the moon shone a crescent shape to the right, accompanied with small stars all around. To ensure her safety, Taranza decided to walk back to Royal Road by her side; the walk was awkward to say the least. They reached the bazaar from earlier, it was empty. Taranza apologized about the accident earlier, and Sectonia told him it was fine. After waiting for a bit, looking at each other, Taranza decided to part ways and head back to his mansion.

Sectonia went back to her home as well. She walked to her castle, looking down. Sectra servants immediately recognized her and let her in. She sighed.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day seemed like it was no different from all of those days in her past years. Her day always starts off with the same complaining from her father. Her father was a strict and blind king who only sought for power and love. Before he became so love-struck, he had a childhood friend who he’d marry. They’d have a child, and soon enough she’d die years later. He mourned for the loss, and now there truly was a hole in his heart. He’s been desperately seeking for a new wife, but to no avail. Though, it was typically because of the monster that enters the castle. His daughter had Instead of complaining over her ugliness and how it draws away so many people, he complained about her tardiness to coming back to the palace. Sectonia tried her best to explain to him that she went to her assigned partner’s house to finish some homework. There, her father unnecessarily slapped her, and cursed her out to go to school.

She made it to her school. It wasn’t too big per se, but it was decently large. From the outside, it looked almost as big as Taranza’s mansion, but just a bit wider. The outside walls were colored with all sorts of gothic dark colors such as dark purple, dark magenta, dark teal, and light yellow. The inside kept the dark teal, prismarine, and light yellow color palette, which had different, and rather perfectly patterned walls. Each classroom was relatively small, and so were the classes, each having about 14 Sectra students and 1 Sectra teacher in each room. Her class, unlike most classes had 15 students for Taranza was their additional student. Of course, many people took interest in him. Girls would ask where he comes from, and guys would test his strength and such. On his first day, she grit her teeth only thinking, “Here comes another annoying fellow.” Though, after that first day, he never really hung out with the popular students. It was weird for Sectonia, but she’d shrug it off.

Sectonia entered her classroom and she noticed Taranza sitting in the front desk. He waved at her, and she timidly waved back with unease. As she walked to her spot, she noticed the Sectras who’ve been bullying her since grade four. Spineretta, Sasoria, and Amber were the three jerks who’d constantly tease her.

All three of the girls had similar body structure to Sectonia, minus all of the defects in Sectonia’s body. Spineretta had silvery hair, a purple outline for her eyes, and short hair. Sasoria had a beige skin tone, a yellow outline for her black, beady eyes, grayer hair and hair length similar to Sectonia’s but less messier. Lastly, Amber had the orange-red outline, white hair, smaller horns and hair length similar to Taranza’s. And as they laughed away atop of Sectonia’s desk, they turned to find a vexed Sectonia.

“Well look who it is!” Spineretta and her two closest friends walk up to Sectonia. “If it isn’t the Princess of Floralia!” They all laughed.

“Look at her! Pitiful to her own kind!” Amber belittles.

“She’s so ugly!” Sasoria scorned.

The three begin laughing hysterically and every other student had noticed. All but the oblivious Taranza, who was currently getting his stuff out from the silky satchel. Sectras ran to the room, laughing and cheering at the disfigured Sectra. Out of curiosity, Taranza exited his spot to find an amused group of students. He noticed the three troublesome girls holding up Sectonia. She’s dangling like a lifeless puppet.

“Come one, come all to see the royal freak we’ve all been for…” The three ladies hold up Sectonia like a lifeless marionette. “Princess Sectonia!!” Every student cheered, booed, applauded the ugly mistress. There wasn’t a sign of remorse or sympathy from any of these Sectras but with one person.

Taranza pushed many students out of their way to talk to the mischievous group of gals. Finally, he stood there, below the four girls as they stood with superiority. “What in Floralia are you doing?!”

“What does it look like to you, new boy? We’re giving Sectonia the attention she wants.” The girls cackle and the Sectras behind him join in. Upset, Taranza tried grabbing Sectonia. She wouldn’t budge.

“C’mon Sectonia… Let’s go already.” He pulled her hand again, but she wouldn’t budge. “Sectonia?” He stared at Sectonia, she only expressed misery in her face. There was no point in life, her face said. Sasoria cackled.

“Well isn’t that cute?” Sasoria said. “The Prince from Nowhere is here to save the Princess of Floralia!” She exclaimed in a sing-song manner. She continued this, and the crowd repeats with her again and again and again. No matter how annoying this sing-song was, he still tried his damned hardest to get her away from these bullies. The three gals let go of Sectonia as this surprising force pulled them down to the ground. Her defective body laid upon his, as Sectonia’s drool stuck to Taranza’s uniform. Her hair covered their faces, and because of it, it seemed like Taranza was in this ‘heaven’. During this moment, Taranza gazed at his friend’s dead expression. Her uneven face, despite how monstrous the society sees it, was… beautiful. To him, her face was seemingly abstract. Her beauty is just as imperfect as the world, but even the world can be just as beautiful. At this moment, Sectonia wakes up from her zombie, careless state. Her face grows red, and so did Taranzas.

They both got up, embarrassed and nervous. Their audience simply laughed, and Sectonia’s face turned an oversaturated red, until she decided to cover her face with her overgrown hair. As for Taranza, he too was embarrassed, but other than that, he was furious. So angry, that he could just punch the living Zero out of them.

“Don’t you get it Nobody?” Amber remarks. “That there was the Monster of Floralia. The blue blossom in a field of the rosy pink blossoms. We’re here to simply rid that blue blossom. We’re here to keep this field rosy pink. Do you understand?” Taranza didn’t respond. Amber walked up to him, grabbed his scarf, and yanked him towards her. “DO you understand?!”

“...yes.” He grumbled.

By the time this was done, school just started. The professor walked in as Taranza accepted what society saw Sectonia. And with that, six hours pass by like days to months on end. It was the same dread and grief Sectonia had felt. Though, despite what happened that morning, she noticed that Taranza grew back his cheerful, hopeful tone. It looked unnatural for someone to quickly change their emotions in a matter of periods. Nevertheless, she’d be doing her own studying for now.

During lunch, she noticed two students picking on Taranza. One of which was already morphing into part-wasp. --Before I continue, it should be noted that not all of the Sectras have the desire to evolve into bees or wasps. Some can choose whether or not they want to-- That Sectra would be Thorax. He was definitely larger than Taranza, beating him at both length and height. He still remained in his spider body, but the palette of a wasp began to kick in. His royal yellow and purple permitted on his skin. He looked more of a freak himself, though everyone cheered for him. Perhaps his relations with Amber play a big role in regards to this student caste system. To Amber, he was her bodyguard, and together they were powerful on the school grounds. Besides Thorax was his trusted jock friend, Kumo. Unlike Thorax, he continues to have the spider shape, though he’s much shorter than Thorax and Taranza. The duo was exceptionally feared within the school grounds. Up until one Sectra stood up for them.

She was too far to actually listen to the conversation, but she could see some mild violence coming from the duo. She witnessed Thorax shoving Taranza into Kumo’s hands, making him stationary. That was when this fight started to draw in a crowd. Sectras surrounded the three. But before Thorax could even lay a punch, the fight was over. It was the weirdest thing every Sectra witnessed. And above the two knocked out bullies, was a satisfied Taranza, as he went back to reading his studies. Most Sectras simply shrugged over the situation while friends of Thorax and Kumo were skeptical over the event. Sectonia smiled over the event, but regardless of it, she was still made fun of by the typical popular group as well as other Sectra students she wasn’t familiar at all. For Taranza, it was an alright day. For Sectonia, she wanted to get this day over with. They met at the shops once again and headed to Taranza’s haunting mansion.

While traveling to their destination, something was on Sectonia’s mind. She looked at Taranza, who was as happy as he could be, until he was tapped twice by the person walking beside him. “So why is it that you live so far from our school?”

He was silent. It took him awhile for him to gather the right information to tell her the truth. “This house was the home of a daring expeditionist who’ve traveled and studied our home and the Lower Realm. This expeditionist was indeed my father. I never personally knew who my father was, nor my mother, but I only grab this information from that blue ghoul, Ace Fuwa Power, who was close friends with my father. He was the one who built the house besides my father and both of their crews. According to him, he was an intelligent, clumsy, and yet a cunning warrior, though he was easily distracted in the smaller things in life like watching the butterflies graceful fly. But this was all of the information he was given by his respectful colleague.” He didn’t say a lot, nor did he say little, but it still made Sectonia a bit skeptical. It didn't matter, they finally arrived at the house, and they can start their homework.

To prevent any troubles with Ace’s crew again, Taranza came to the decision of holding each other’s hands. This probably could’ve been avoided after what Ace’s crew learned last time, but nevertheless, they walked together to the library. Upon opening the door, they saw the blue phantom leisurely reading. The book had no importance, and neither was he at this certain given time. There, Taranza told Ace to shoo, asking for some privacy alone with his study partner. He left as his book still stood afloat above the cushioned chair. He quickly went back to put a bookmark on that book, and placed it on the desk. That was the last time Sectonia saw Fuwa Ace. For today at least.

Taranza looked at Sectonia. “So how about you your majesty?”

Sectonia didn’t react to what he said until she realized the quiet ambience in the room and her study partner staring at her. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Do you have any stories to tell? Surely you do as the Princess of Royal Road.” Taranza playfully said the given title to Sectonia. But no, the title mildly infuriated her, for hearing it other than the servants or her mother gives her bad vibes. Why? Well the answer is quite obvious. She groaned. “Do you not like the title? I think it suits you!”

“Can’t you just stop it…” She mutters aloud. “M-Mock me all you want, I won’t show weakness.”

“Sec-” Taranza looked down realizing what she might think he’s trying to pull. “Wait Sectonia. I don’t want to humiliate you. We’re friends right?” Sectonia said nothing. “That Sasoria and her friends are wrong. I see potential in you. You are nothing but a monster. You are a-”

Before Taranza could continue his lecture, Sectonia pushed Taranza away. “Stop! Just stop! I don’t care if you see me as the monster! I don’t care if you see me as the princess! I just- I just…” And like that, Sectonia collapsed onto the floor faintly crying. Taranza felt awful after just hearing that. He crouched down and placed a hand on her shoulder. “My life is going downhill because of my looks. Everyone hates me because of my looks. My grades have been dropping because of my looks. My mother died because… ...because…” She covered her face with all six of her hands. She didn’t finish that last sentence.

Then she felt it. A warming hug from her study partner. It was so… unexpected and she felt a mix of emotions. Comfort, closeness, confusion, and anger. It was mostly those four things. She wanted to push him off, but at the same time, she wanted to feel this forever. Alas she hugged back. “But… But why?”

“If you want to entitle yourself as normal, then I won’t have a problem with it. Everyone shouldn’t be titled by what they look like. That’s just unethical to say the least. And I’m sorry if I had teased you earlier. I should’ve remembered what happened this morning. For all I know, all of that embarrassment in school is probably ingrained in your brain. Let me help you. Let me guide you. Let me protect you from all the things that hurt you.”

“But what if you decide to stop protecting me?”

“I guarantee you, I never break promises.” Sectonia didn’t know how to react. She was happy overall but there still was some skepticism. But her train of thinking was cut off by Taranza. “How close were you and your mother?”

Taranza knew this was a quick question to come by, especially if it was family-related. “I loved my mom. She was always there for me. She would entertain me and I would always laugh. Those were the good days of my childhood. I remember every night she would play me this song. I remember the first three notes.” She stood up and headed to the grand piano. She played the keys, and the hammers inside the piano struck the strings. 

*A B flat F…* 

She repeated the phrase twice then she hummed to herself after that. The song was… well it captured every emotion in Taranza. He could envision it in so many ways. But it almost felt like the song wanted you to feel... 

“Do you like it?” Taranza woke up from his daydreaming, in which Sectonia turned away from him. “You didn’t listen to it, didn’t you?”

“No! I did! I did!” Taranza stammered. “I really liked it. I did!”

“Oh yeah? Then hum it to me.” Sectonia asked, indirectly trying to gain his trust. Instead of humming it though, he decided to hop on his piano and play the tune. All of which on a single hand. Just the melody. It at least proved something there. Sectonia then stopped him.

“Could I promise you on something? I want to mess with your song. In a good way of course!” 

“What are you going to do with it?”

“Nothing concerning that’s for sure!” He guided her out of the house where they were met with a cloudy night sky. “I promise you by the end of the week, I’ll give you a present.”

“That’s a bit sudden, don’t you think?” said the flawed queen.

“Oh hush up! It’s not like I’m giving you a hug and a kiss!”

Sectonia turned the other way. “You just gave me a hug earlier.” She muttered.

“Is this song important to you?”

“Very.” Sectonia responded. “It was my lullaby when I was little, and she would play it regardless of how she felt. She would play in on our harpsichord joyfully when she was in a good mood. She would play it slow and dance-like if she felt down. And I missed it. Other than the harpsichord, I was also there to cheer her up. But then…” Sectonia fell quiet, as Taranza began to realize. “I would hum it to myself nowadays. Whenever I felt lonely or sad or in a bad mood. It’s the only thing that drives me happy. Or at least a little bit.”

“What about your father?” Taranza asked, and Sectonia didn’t respond. “Well, howabout we study then?”

“Okay.” The two pulled out the same book from last night. Tonight, the two were studying the principles of magic. It’s a topic that’s always regarded in the beginning of a mage’s class. Principles including safety and pronouncing the wording correctly. This also includes how to yield such incantations and any accidental mishaps through one single spell. For amateurs and students like Sectonia and Taranza, the spell is pretty difficult to overcome, but regardless, it’s still study material. And like last night, the two had traveled back to Royal Road. Throughout the walk, Taranza was able to listen to the entire lullaby. His partner had sung it through the rest of the trip as she had gazed at the crescent moon. Then they arrived at the castle.

“Well today, was a good day.”

“Yeah. Yeah it was.”

“Well, we better split off our own ways. Ace’ll get worried, and you need some sleep.” Instead of acceptance, Sectonia quickly came to Taranza, hugging him. Then Taranza wrapped her hands behind her. Sectonia’s head was nuzzling beside Taranza, and Taranza had patted Sectonia on the back of her head. Then they had split off. They said their goodbyes and their goodnights, leaving Sectonia back in the castle, and Taranza back to his mansion.

Taranza went to his bedroom, a large elegant room about the size of his library. He walked past a wardrobe with many books stacked upon each other, an empty vase, and a detailed drawing of a portrait of him, King Ace, and many more of the ghosts. He rested his body on his silk-woven bed, where he slept of the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Q: So, I finally had the time to actually update this story after about eight full months (Jeez!). Regardless, it's finally Spring Break, and I actually have time to write. I've already got a third chapter ready, but I'm also currently working on a fourth and a fifth. So, yeah. I guess I'll see you in another 8 months! Haha... ha...


	4. Chapter 4

Last night was something. It almost seemed like a dream. It almost seemed like everything he said was scripted from the many books in his library. Sectonia was laying in her bed with her periwinkle nightgown on. Her heart beat as she thought about him. “He cares about me.” Sectonia told herself while laying on her luscious bed. She laid there moving around her bed, giggling and daydreaming all about Taranza. Her mind can’t stop thinking about him. Then she snapped back at reality. “No. I mustn’t. I mustn’t! Especially towards a friend I had just met!” She turned around. “But he is kinda funny. He’s quirky, but smart. Looks weak, but he’s there to defend. Caring in all sorts of ways. I just hope he doesn’t care about my looks…”

\--

She got out of her bed, and peered out from her balcony. “Should I tell him about what goes on in the castle?” She opened her drawer. The only thing in there was her uniform. It smells like yesterday. Regardless of the awful smell, she wore it anyways. No one cared about the smell. No one cared about her. No one cared until he did show up. Her hair remained the same, messy and furrowed up. She grabbed her books and placed them in her cocoon backpack. The moon still sits outside, while the sun continues to wait under the horizon.

With her father still asleep, Sectonia heads to the academy where she would wait for the janitor to arrive. It’s usually the janitor and the principal who always show up first, let alongside Sectonia. And ever since Sectonia showed up to the school, they tried to help her cope with the things that go on. They tried.

The janitor can’t do much but clean up messes. He’s an old Sectra and he’s been here since the academy opened. That was decades ago, and yet, he still looks like he’s in his 70s. He had agray, rugged beard that stretched down to his abdominal area, and unlike the many Sectras in Royal Road, he only had a pair of hands, while still having the spider-like body. Whether these messes came from natural causes like throwing food or ridiculing Sectonia, or from any accidents with all of these spells and such. While they could just clean the mess up with a simple spell, the janitor preferred it the slow and calm way. He couldn’t do much with the students and teachers at the school. He was basically treated like a ghost anytime he’s there.

The principal, Principal Theraphos, is one of the nicest people in this school. Unfortunately, this trait serves as her weakness more than anything else. She doesn’t punish, she doesn’t set up rules. Well, yes there are rules in the school, but Theraphos does expect her students to do them. “They’re all well-behaved and smart students right?” That’s her typical excuse in avoiding problems. It’s more troubling that Amber and her little group uses her to do whatever they want. She knows inside that they’re doing wrong, but she just can’t stand up to them. It’s the only reason why Sectonia mildly dislikes her. She doesn’t do anything about her problem.

The janitor door was chained up and a key with a sort of mantra was on it. The janitor pulled out a lock out of his pocket and sighed. The lock also had a sort of mantra on it, and upon putting the chained key in the lock, both items had swapped from their spot, and the lock had opened. The door had opened, and the janitor left to do his bidding and the principal to her office; leaving Sectonia alone.

Upon entering the school, the lights had lit up, the blinds behind the window opened as it let out the remaining moonlight into the school, leaving Sectonia to check around the area. She went to her homeroom class, the same one that she shares with Taranza. She peeked out of the window. The sun started to peek out from the horizon. Then suddenly she heard some giggling. Female giggling.

“Yoo hoo! Taranza? Where are you?” Spinneretta asked out from the vacant school. 

“Taranza’s here?” She whispered to herself. Subsequently, a door opened. It was Taranza. He looked all worried and observant, sweating underneath his clothes and hair as he peeked out from the window on the door. Starting to feel just as worried, she reaches a hand to his shoulder. “Taranza?”

Taranza hushed Sectonia. “Spinneretta just tried to kissed me.” He loudly whispered.

“Wha-What!” Sectonia loudly whispered, to which Taranza covered her mouth. The messy haired Sectra pushed down his hand, as her heart started to wilt. “Wh-When did this happen..”

“As soon as I left the mansion, I just saw Sasoria and Spinneretta in front of my house. They were telling me things.”

“Like what?” A door outside the classroom opened. It wasn’t close, but they were able to hear it regardless. Taranza hesitated, while Sectonia’s uneven eyes stared at him.

Taranza looked down. This wasn’t the question he was expecting from her at all. More so a question he’d expect in a dream. “I-I’d rather not.”

Sectonia placed a pair of hands on his shoulders. “Tell me.” He pointed it out. Surely it had to do with her. Surely. Perhaps Spinneretta attempted to turn Taranza to her side, but what made her try to kiss him? She waited for an answer..

“She and her friend tried to hypnotize me. I could see Sasoria moving her hands and whispering.” Another door opens.

“We’ll talk about this matter later, right now we need to somehow evade.”

“But what about-?”

“Last night, you told me that you were going to protect me, right?” Taranza couldn’t talk. “Right?!” He quickly nodded. “Okay, so clearly we need to evade from these intruders. Any ideas?”

“I was in a rush that I completely didn’t have an escape plan.”

Sectonia had jumped in, “I have an idea. Do you know any sort of invisibility spell?” The door right next to the classroom the two Sectras had been in for the last few minutes opened up. Taranza quietly told Sectonia to move to the corner away from the door. Taranza placed a pair of hands on one side in front of the two like a mime trying to push on a wall. He placed another beside them, and lastly another above them. The two crouched in fear as they heard the doorknob slowly and suspensefully opened. The door swung open, and out came Spinneretta.

“Oh? Taranza?” Spinneretta called out. Her hand had some ball filled with shadow with a purple outer glow. “Sasi and I wanted to talk and apologize for this morning.”

“Apologize?” Taranza whispered faintly. The smug female Sectra searched left and right where the noise might’ve come from, scanning the area, underneath the desks, beside a bookshelf.

“Yes, apologize! We didn’t know that that uh… wonderful house was yours. We’ve only heard haunting rumors about that house, but never did I hear that a strong and cunning Sectra had lived in such a wicked house.” Spinneretta closed the door behind her. “You know, I saw you fight Amber’s BF and his most trusted friend. Sasi and I were impressed. Very!” She started to walk around the perimeter of the room. “You don’t have to be afraid of us. Not Sasi and I, at least. We could be friends. Buddies even.” She got closer and closer to the duo. “Perhaps, even close friends, no… partners!” Taranza turned around towards Spinneretta, and walked to the closed door. Sectonia had opened her silk-woven backpack, and grabbed a pencil out of it. She threw a pencil at the corner in front of the door. She looked over there, and saw a pencil. She picked it up, and sniffed it like a dog smelling its essence. She squealed afterwards. “Sasi I think I’ve found-”

Spinneretta tumbled into the two invisible Sectras. Taranza slowly laughed; so did Spinneretta, and Sectonia started to walk away from them. Taranza had followed. Then they closed the door and- “SASI!” The messy haired Sectra and her friend started to run through the hallways until Sasoria had cut them off. Before she could start her gesture, Sectonia shot out silk from her hands which encased Sasoria into a cocoon. As they passed her, all the trapped Sectra could do was curse out the monster that was Sectonia. They had finally approached the entrance of the school.

Outside, they could see the sun already up from its slumber, and a handful of alumni and professors alike walking to the academy. Upon exiting, the duo had crashed into the group. Specifically, a group of professors and teachers ready to start a new day in this academy. The crash didn’t please them whatsoever, and so they were sent to the Principal’s Office.

\--

“N-Now according to your professors, you two had crashed into them without thinking. Is this not true.” Principal Theraphos asked shiveringly.

“Yes, but-”

“W-Well, that’s all I need to know! I’ll be signing a referral for you and-”

“What! This is absurd! You haven’t even reasoned with us as to why we had done it? There’s always a motive to do something wrong. And if we could just explain, perhaps we could share what we witnessed.”

“Now, Taranza, I understand you are new to this school, and lately you have been hanging out with Sectonia, which I can also applaud you for, but need I remind you how this school works.” Principal Theraphos inched closer to the two. “I will not stand for any violence. And I will not stand for this nonsense either.” She went back to her chair. “Now I suggest that you both return to your homeroom class or else you’ll receive another referral. Understood?”

Knowing that her principal isn’t like this, she observed if there was anything that made her so… strict. There, she blatantly spotted some nicely written handwriting on a note, like a script of some sort for her to say. With this, she pointed it out to Theraphos. She had still kept a strict face and looked at the two Sectras. Inhale. Exhale. “Please! Don’t do anything to me! For once I actually felt good doing this!”

Taranza’s jaw dropped, as for Sectonia, this was well expected. “So, what was this show that you held up?” Taranza asked sarcastically. “And what do you mean actually felt good doing this?”

Sectonia turned to him. “Despite being the principal for this academy, she can easily get pushed over.”

“YOU TAKE THAT BACK!”

The flawed princess looked at her. “I’m only speaking truth.” In response, Theraphos cowered back. She looked at a window beside them. School’s about to start. “Well, we should get going Taranza.”

They get up, and they take their leave. Taranza took off first; Sectonia being the last. Before she closed the door, she turned back at Principal Theraphos. “You better rip those referrals up to shreds.” She demanded in an almost demonic tone.

“Y-Y-yes ma-ma-ma’am!”

She nodded and out of nowhere her face is in glee. “Well, okie-dokie then!” She took her leave as Principal Theraphos let out a huge sigh.

The sun was gleaming inside the school, as Taranza and Sectonia headed to their homeroom class, hesitantly hovering their hands at a fair distance away from each other.


	5. Chapter 5

Upon arriving the homeroom class, everyone had shut up and looked at the two sweaty, tired, and yet optimistic Sectras. “You’re late.” Says the homeroom teacher. They didn’t respond. They just went to their spots. Though, instead of sitting in the back with the three bullies, Sectonia sat beside Taranza. As they listened to the professor, murmuring was heard behind them. They both ignored it. For better or for worse. As hours rolled by, it was already lunch time.

Sectonia had sat by herself at a table farthest from the rest of the other tables. She sat with a sandwich in her hands and sighed. Then a Sectra sat in front of her. It was Taranza. “You look like you need someone to talk to.”

She took a bite from her sandwich. “So… what was it that Sasoria and Spinneretta doing at your place?” Taranza looked at her with confusion. “Don’t you remember? I told you this morning that we would talk about this.”

“Oh right…” Taranza trailed his sentence as he spawned in his own lunch. “They just appeared and started trashing my house.”

Sectonia leaned closer to him. “Was there anything they said?”

“They wanted me to be a part of their groupie. I obviously declined then Spinneretta came up to me and softly kissed me. She probably tried luring me with some love spell or something. But I wouldn’t know.” He continued eating lunch and so did Sectonia. Whilst they ate, the two started to notice the murmuring from the other tables. Rumors started to spread from each group about the new kid and the princess. Of course, they both tried to ignore it. They both wanted to stay in a bubble in which sound was blocked from the outside. It would only be her and Taranza. As soon as she looked up, she saw Spinneretta and Sasoria pass by. As they walked, Spinneretta dropped a note for Taranza. The note simply said “Join Us” along with a winky face beside it. He looked up at Sectonia, angrily crumbled it, and burned her note.

As soon as Sectonia finished her sandwich, she had to wonder. Though, from the information she received, she could only shiver as to what it could say. The back of the note did say “Or else…” but Taranza had already burned the note. He didn’t check behind it, but it wasn’t like it would stop them.

“So… Sectonia. Tell me about yourself. I’ve told you of my past, and well… since you are the princess of Royal Road, I’m sure you have an interesting life.” He smiled.

Sectonia looked down underneath the table. “I miss my mother. I always think of her when things go South. My father knew that the outside world won’t accept me, so my mother made sure that I would enjoy every second of my life in my castle. The maids of the castle had once hated me, but they’ve grown used to me. I miss them too. But it was my mother that really cheered me up. She taught me, entertained me, and was there for me when times get tough. I remember one time my mother wanted to try something new. She knew I started to grow sick of the same castle, so we went outside to a nearby park. It was only she and I. Kids nearby would flee and other mothers would sickeningly ask my mother to get my cursed looks away from here. That was until those parents realized they were talking to the queen.”

He started to notice teardrops forming in Sectonia’s eye and a trail of sadness from her other eye. To avoid a conflict happening in the cafeteria, he moved beside her and hugged her. “How about those happy memories? I’m sure you had many good memories!”

Sectonia weakly smiled. “We’ve had many. Magic was one of them. I remember saying that I wished to entertain kids with magic. My mother, cautious as ever, reminded me of the consequences of the outside world, let alone me being queen soon after, but I didn’t care. I wanted to be a magician for kids. Then there was the one thing that had always stuck my mind. There was always this song my mother would always hum or play on her harpsichord. When I felt sleepy, she hummed it. When I felt sad, she hummed it. And when I was alone playing with my toys, I could always hear her play the melody on the harpsichord. It still rings in my head when scenarios like this happen. I miss her.” Taranza smiled. “I noticed you had a piano at your library. Do you know how to play it?” She asked, wiping her tears off of her face. Taranza nodded. “When we get to your home, could you play it when we have free time?” Again Taranza nodded.

While the two conversed, Spinneretta and Sasoria returned to their spots. They were watching the lonesome two. Amber joined them. “He burned the message.” Spinneretta peered.

“Amber, get everyone but those two to arrive after school. Let’s plan something fun!” 

Amber smiled. “That’s my girl!” Then she wandered off to find Thorax and Kumo to tell the school about the news.


End file.
